LUMINESCENCE AND ENERGY MIGRATION IN THE OXYAPATITE CA2GD8(SIO4)6O2 DOPED WITH SEVERAL RARE-EARTH AND MERCURY-LIKE IONS

Energy transfer phenomena have been observed by activating the oxyapatite host-lattice Ca2Gd8(SiO4)6O2 with Eu3+, Tb3+, Dy3+, Sm3+. This is based on the energy migration in the Gd3+ sublattice and trapping by the activators. The trapping efficiency for G

POLYANILINE-DISPERSED MERCURY-ELECTRODE FOR THE DETECTION OF MONOCHLORAMINE AND DICHLORAMINE

A novel type of electrochemical detector based on a polyaniline-dispersed mercury-coated glassy carbon chemically modified electrode was investigated for the detection of monochloramine and dichloramine. A polyaniline dispersed-mercury modified electrode, which was prepared by coating polyaniline on a thin mercury film electrode using fast-sweep voltammetry, was developed. The selectivity could be altered using various counter ions incorporated into the polymer. The results indicated that the use of a conducting polymer-based electrochemical sensor for the selective determination of chloramine is a feasible approach.

Cadmium toxicity to embryonic-larval development and survival in red sea bream Pagrus major

At 18 degrees C and 33 psu, 24 and 48 h LC50 values of cadmium (Cd) for red sea bream Pagrus major embryos were 9.8 and 6.6 mg l(-1), respectively, while 24,48, 72, and 96 h LC50 values for larvae were 18.9,16.2, 8.0, and 5.6 mg l(-1), respectively, indicating that embryos were more sensitive to Cd toxicity than larvae. Cd concentrations at >= 0.8 mg l(-1) led to low hatchability (0-90% in >= 0.8 mg l(-1) solutions vs. 97-100% in lower ones), delay in time to hatch, high mortality (38-100% vs. 1-10%), morphological abnormality (42-100% vs. 1-10%), reduced length (3.55-3.60 vs. 3.71-3.72 mm) in the embryos and larvae. They were Cd concentration dependent and potential biological significant endpoints for assessing the risk of Cd to aquatic organisms. Heart beat and yolk absorption of the larvae were significantly inhibited at some high concentrations but they were not as sensitive as other endpoints to Cd exposure. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Alteration of metallothionein mRNA in bay scallop Argopecten irradians under cadmium exposure and bacteria challenge

Metallothionein (MT) is a superfamily of cysteine-rich proteins contributing to metal metabolism, detoxification of heavy metals, and immune response such as protecting against ionizing radiation and antioxidant defense. A metallothionein (designated AiMT2) gene was identified and cloned from bay scallop, Argopecten irradians. The full length cDNA of AiMT2 consisted of an open reading frame (ORF) of 333 bp encoding a protein of 110 amino acids. with nine characteristic Cys-X-Cys, five Cys-X-X-Cys, five Cys-X-X-X-Cys and two Cys-Cys motif arrangements and a conserved structural pattern Cys-x-Cys-x(3)-Cys-Tyr-x(3)Cys-x-Cys-x(3)-Cys-x-Cys-Arg at the C-terminus. The cloned ANT showed about 50% identity in the deduced amino acid sequence with previously published MT sequences of mussels and oysters. The conserved structural pattern and the close phylogenetic relationship of AiMT2 shared with MTs from other mollusc especially bivalves indicated that AiMT2 was a new member of molluscan MT family. The mRNA transcripts in hemolymph of AiMT2 under cadmium (Cd) exposure and bacteria challenge were examined by real-time RT-PCR. The mRNA expression of AiMT2 was up-regulated to 3.99-fold at 2 h after Listonella anguillarum challenge, and increased drastically to 66.12-fold and 126.96-fold at 16 and 32 h post-challenge respectively. Cadmium ion exposure could induce the expression of AiMT2, and the expression level increased 2.56-fold and 6.91-fold in hemolymph respectively after a 10-day exposure of 100 mu g L-1 and 200 mu g L-1 CdCl2. The sensitivity of AiMT2 to bacteria challenge and cadmium stress indicated it was a new Cd-dependent MT in bay scallop and also regulated by an immune challenge. The changes in the expression of AiMT2 could be used as an indicator of exposure to metals in pollution monitoring programs and oxidative stress, and bay scallop as a potential sentinel organism for the cadmium contamination in aquatic environment. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Distribution and their pollution assessment of heavy metals in the sediments of the Yalu River Estuary and its adjacent coastal waters

The present paper deals with the distribution patterns of heavy metals and the associated influencing factors in the Yalu River Estuary and its adjacent coastal waters. Based upon the analysis of the surficial and core sediments measurements, the pollution of heavy metal and potential ecological risk were evaluated. The burial flux and contents of heavy metals (except for copper) have been continuously increasing since the 1920s. Therefore, the gross potential ecological risk for the sediments was high or very high, and the study area was endangered by heavy metals contamination. Heavy metals originated mainly from upstream pollutant input, correlation analysis showed that chromium, nickel, zinc, cadmium, lead, arsenic, and mercury in the sediments of the middle and west channels as well as the sea area of the western Yalu River Estuary concentrations were most probably derived from similar sources. In contrast, the metal of copper most probably originated from sources different from the other metals. Preliminary studies indicate that copper contamination was most likely the result of emission from mining activities situated at the upstream of the river. The contents of heavy metals in the sediments of estuarine turbidity maximum zone of Yalu River were larger than those of any other areas in the middle channel. With large portion of fine sediments, weaker hydrodynamics, and richer sources of heavy metals, the sediments of the west channel, were even more enriched with heavy metals than those of the middle channel.

四角蛤蜊Mactra veneriformis对镉和汞污染胁迫的生理响应

本论文基于对我国沿海重金属污染加剧以及滩涂贝类资源衰退现象的关注，围绕典型滩涂贝类四角蛤蜊生物化学、细胞生物学和免疫学特征开展研究，调查了渤海湾天津近岸海域四角蛤蜊体内重金属含量和分布规律，以及四角蛤蜊对沉积物重金属的富集能力。室内模拟研究了四角蛤蜊对重金属镉和汞的富集能力及同化机制（assimilation mechanism）差异性，四角蛤蜊各组织对镉和汞的解毒机理和负载能力，以及重金属胁迫对四角蛤蜊血细胞结构和功能的损伤效应。研究结果可望为探讨四角蛤蜊受重金属胁迫细胞水平上的响应机制，揭示重金属污染和贝类资源衰退的关系，建立快速可靠的重金属污染生物标志物指标体系，开展生态健康评估和生境修复等提供科学依据。主要研究结果如下： 1．查明了渤海湾天津近岸四角蛤蜊体内和表层沉积物中Cd、Pb、Cu、Zn、Mn、Cr和Ni七种重金属的含量和周年时空分布特征；表层沉积物中Cd具有较强的污染程度和潜在生态风险，四角蛤蜊对重金属元素Cd和Pb具有较高的富集能力，对环境重金属污染具有很好的指示作用。 2．查明了Cd对四角蛤蜊在24h，48h和96h的半致死浓度（LC50）分别为15.96mg/L、5.15mg/L和2.38mg/L，汞的24h，48h和96h LC50分别为3.71mg/L，0.61mg/L和0.21mg/L。镉和汞对四角蛤蜊的安全质量浓度分别为0.0238mg/L和0.0021mg/L。 3．四角蛤蜊软体部对Cd和Hg的富集能力有显著差异。暴露过程中，四角蛤蜊软体部Cd和Hg的增加量分别为0.12-7.7µg/g和0.002-0.024µg/g，富集率分别为0.3-6.2%和0.11-0.68%，吸收率常数分别为0.07-1.10和0.001-0.005。 4．四角蛤蜊受Cd和Hg胁迫后，外套膜、鳃和肝胰腺的金属硫蛋白（MT）含量均在暴露浓度和胁迫时间上都有极显著变化。组织内MT含量的大小关系为：肝胰腺＞鳃＞外套膜。肝胰腺可以作为双壳贝类MT重金属污染指示研究的目标组织。四角蛤蜊对Cd和Hg不同的解毒机制，导致组织中MT的表达含量和Cd胁迫显著相关，而与Hg胁迫无显著相关性。 5．四角蛤蜊肝胰腺和鳃中抗氧化系统酶、脂质过氧化产物、酸性磷酸酶（ACP）和碱性磷酸酶（ALP）在不同Cd胁迫浓度和暴露时间下有显著差异。与对照组相比，超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GPx）的活力和丙二醛（MDA）含量均随着暴露时间的增加而增加，达到一个峰值，然后减低。而ACP和ALP活力则表现出先被抑制，然后升高的变化趋势。肝胰腺中CAT和GPx活力高于鳃，鳃中SOD和MDA含量高于肝胰腺，这种差异与两种组织不同的解毒机理有关。 6．重金属胁迫能够造成四角蛤蜊血细胞超微结构的损伤、溶酶体膜稳定性改变、微核和总畸形核生成，各种损伤均表现出明显的浓度依赖效应。2μg/L Hg暴露14天后，血细胞溶酶体膜中性红保持时间（NRR）、微核生成率（MN）和总畸形核生成率（TNA）与对照组相比没有显著差异。相同暴露时间下，25 μg/L Hg处理组血细胞NRR值低于25 μg/L Cd处理组，而MN和TNA值则相反，说明Hg胁迫对四角蛤蜊血细胞溶酶体膜具有较强的损伤作用。研究发现，NRR、MN和TNA三种指标对于衡量重金属污染对四角蛤蜊血细胞的毒性效应有很好的协同检测作用，可望作为有效的生物标志物在环境监测技术中得以应用。

Concentrations of Cadmium and Zinc in Seawater of Bohai Bay and Their Effects on Biomarker Responses in the Bivalve Chlamys farreri

Both in-field chemical investigation and in the laboratory toxic tests were carried out to systematically understand the pollution status of cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) in Bohai Bay. Samples collected from surface seawater were determined to describe the distributions of Cd and Zn in Bohai Bay. The average values in our study of Cd and Zn were 0.15 mu g/L and 19.68 mu g/L, respectively. Both of them were lower than the first class limit of seawater quality standard in China. In the laboratory, antioxidant enzymes [SOD (Cu/Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD), CAT], lipid peroxidation (MDA), phase I and phase II enzymes (CYP4501A and GST) were investigated in the bivalves Chlamys farreri exposed to Cd and Zn at the concentration levels of Bohai Bay seawater, which were obtained from our in-field investigation. The reduced SOD, CAT, and EROD (7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase) activities (with the inhibitory rate of 16.8%, 31.5%, and 51.6%, respectively) in Cd treatment were observed and resulted in obvious lipid peroxidation damage. However, treatment of Zn showed elevations in SOD and GST by 13.3% and 29.9%, respectively, and with no influence on lipid peroxidation. In summary, seawater quality in Bohai Bay seawater was ranked as good in general, but it seemed that Cd might possess a potential environmental risk by effecting pro-oxidant/antioxidant balance and phase I detoxification in C. farreri.

Dichloridobis[N-(2-pyridylmethyl)-benzamide-kappa N-2,O]cadmium(II)

In the title compound, [CdCl2(C13H12N2O)(2)], the Cd-II ion is situated on an inversion centre, coordinated by two 0 atoms [Cd-O=2.3878 (17) angstrom] and two N atoms [Cd-N = 2.3404 (15) angstrom] from two N-(2-pyridylmethyl)benzamide ligands, and two Cl atoms [Cd-Cl = 2.5566 (6) angstrom], in a distorted octahedral geometry. In the crystal structure, intermolecular N-H center dot center dot center dot Cl hydrogen bonds [N center dot center dot center dot Cl = 3.1705 (18) angstrom] and pi-pi interactions, with a distance of 3.868 (3) angstrom between the centroids of the phenyl and pyridyl rings of neighbouring molecules, lead to the formation of two-dimensional layers parallel to the bc plane.

cis-Dichloridobis(1,10-phenanthroline-kappa N-2,N ')-cadmium(II) hemihydrate

The title compound, [ CdCl2( C12H8N2)(2)]center dot 0.5H(2)O, crystallizes with two independent complex molecules and one water molecule in the asymmetric unit. The Cd atoms in both independent complexes display a distorted octahedral coordination geometry formed by four N atoms from two phenanthroline ligands and two Cl atoms. In the crystal structure, pi-pi stacking interactions link complexes in two symmetry- independent ladders parallel to the c axis. Intermolecular O-H center dot center dot center dot Cl hydrogen bonds stabilize the crystal packing.